Stop Calling It a 'Diet' & You WILL Lose the Weight

Ah, dieting. It gets such a bad rap among nutritionists and people in the know. Countless studies have been done showing how diets make you fatter and yet people still flock to Jenny Craig and fad diets like the Paleo Diet, South Beach, and Atkins.

A recent article in the Daily Mail only perpetuated the "dieting is bad" message by suggesting that some recent research shows dieting raises levels of hormones that stimulate the appetite -- and lowers levels of hormones that suppress it.

It all may be true. But call it whatever you like, there is only one formula to lose weight. You take in less calories than you burn.

For all those people who want to call it "dieting," well then fine. But it's not. It's a simple mathematical formula and, in the end, the only long-term way people have found to really lose weight and keep it off.

As someone who is actively trying to get myself back in shape after losing some of it over the past year, I feel this. But what I am doing is no "diet." It's a lifestyle change. I am following the basic Weight Watchers plan of recording all my food, paying attention to "points" (or calories), and calculating out my workouts. But I am not being too strict.

Truth be told, I am a long distance runner whose idea of "sedentary" (running only 30 miles a week) might seem different than others. And I have never been "fat." But I'm pushing up a dress size and it's time to pay the piper. With that in mind, I am cutting out the bags of Cadbury mini eggs and six cookie snacks at 3 in the afternoon. I am ditching the car more and biking as much as I can (in addition to the running) and I am also incorporating more weight training, yoga, and healthy foods into my life.

This isn't a diet. It's a return to the old me. So far, in two weeks, I have lost seven pounds. It is possible. The only difference between me and someone else, though, is my choice of wording.